According to Mahendra Nath Pandey, minister of heavy industries, the reduction of import duties from 252% to zero will enable India to compete in the worldwide auto testing market.
In-depth details about Government won’t charge import fees on vehicles brought in for evaluation
In an effort to incentivize multinational automakers to test their vehicles in India, the Center has decided to waive the 252% import tariff on the vehicles they bring in.
No customs duty, according to heavy industries minister Mahendra Nath Pandey, will bring India into the global auto testing market. The action will entice automakers from more nations to utilise the testing facilities offered in the nation. Starting on April 1, 2023, there will be no customs fees.
“Earlier Custom duty payable for import of vehicles was very high, which in turn makes the test agencies as non-competitive for global business and services, but with zero custom duty India will become a global testing hub,” said Pandey while he opened the “Towards Panchamrit” – Conference & Exposition on MHI schemes for promotion and development of the automotive industry in the country at International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar, Haryana.
The iCAT (Manesar), ARAI (Pune), GARC (Global Automotive Research Center, Oragadam), and National Automotive Test Tracks are the four car testing facilities owned and operated by the government (NATRAX, Pithampur).
In the Finance Bill that was introduced on February 1, the customs charge on vehicles imported into India for testing was revised.
In the minister’s presence, there was also a demonstration of a car crash test. The ICAT facility successfully conducted a crash test on an automobile travelling at 56 km/h.
After the crash test, Pandey stated that the UK, Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan are now the countries where they test their vehicles the most.
The lack of import taxes would make it more affordable for automakers to introduce cutting-edge technology in the nation and will help India grow as a desirable location for the testing and certification of automobiles for export.
In addition, ICAT has raised its testing goals for FY23 from 56 to 90, up from 56 in FY22. ICAT currently has important facilities such misuse-abuse test tracks, airbag deployment systems, pedestrian protection systems, vehicle crash test systems, and sled test systems. Over 325 crash tests have been performed by the agency in the last six years.
